It has recently been announced that the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) American Championship taking place this October in New York City will have $59,600 of prize money up for grabs. This money will be split among players competing in Counter-Strike, StarCraft 2 and Quake Live.

American Counter-Strike teams will be competing for the largest chunk of the prize money with a $36,800 purse going towards their game. The newly released Blizzard title StarCraft 2 has been given $12,400 for it's competitors with Quake Live taking home the remaining fraction of the purse which is $10,400.

There will be 8 Counter-Strike teams in NYC this October, along with 8 SC2 and 8 QL players. The only way to earn a spot to one of these events is through qualification cups (primarily taking place online) being held through the recently announced National ESL. Teams and players that are top finishers at the American Championship will be eligible to compete in the IEM World Championship, where $400,000 will be up for grabs.

Every events should be covered by Thorin and Jay or whats that guy on ESLTV they're funny, insightful and I enjoy their commmentary and they should add HP bars every time they stream... HLTV is good too but that shit is pr0 and its like watching a game of footy only its CS :)